


Dib X Reader – Wendigo

by writeyouin



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: An absolute idiot story for funsies, Gen, Reader-Insert, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 13:45:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeyouin/pseuds/writeyouin
Summary: Request: (Invader Zim) How about the reader is able to turn into a wendigo like creature (you know, the thing with a deer skull and sharp teeth). The reader escaped from a lab that ran horrible tests on her. Dib knows her secret, but treats her like a friend. How would Zim react if he saw his s/o use her power for the first time?





	Dib X Reader – Wendigo

Science is a curious subject, as are the people who study it. Some of science’s greatest minds are gentle beings, exploring the world with eager eyes whereas others are awful beasts with no time for petty concerns like morals or safety as long as they got the answers they sought. Maybe life wouldn’t be so bad if you were in the hands of the former, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

You stared pitifully out of your containment cell at the cramped laboratory that served as your prison, searching for any sign of your captor, who you’d never actually seen before, but only heard through the laboratory speakers. Suddenly, the cell filled with the knock-out gas you were all too familiar with. You groaned, falling to the floor, knowing that when you woke up, it would be for more painful experiments.

* * *

Dib was excited. As usual, nobody had believed him when he said he’d found evidence of Big Foot in the woods, but he knew that everyone was just ignorant of the truth and he was going to prove it. Although he’d initially planned to spend the day monitoring Zim, who’d been unusually quiet of late, Dib couldn’t after finding what could only be Big Foot’s fur and a trail of destruction leading out of the city.

After taking the last bus from the city to the final stop where the woods just began, Dib was ready to begin his adventure. Tugging on his backpack that contained all manner of things from his father’s workshop that he’d adapted to capture Big Foot, he spoke into the air with a steely determination, “I’m coming for you Big Foot.”

Hours into his trek, when the moon was high above him, Dib adorned his night-vision goggles, refusing to stop for even a moment to rest. If Mickey McNaddy had rested, would he have found a slough of the snake people? No, he would just be another nobody in a world full of nobodies. Dib would not be a nobody. He would be the world’s best Paranormal Investigator.

Dib spotted a nearby tree that had deep gouges in the bark. He eyed them carefully, surprised that Big Foot had claws; it was a scientific discovery he would be sure to share with the world. “Must be getting close now,” he said to himself.

While Dib forged ahead, Zim grinned evilly from within his lab, using camera drones to track his enemy. The trail of destruction leading Dib into the woods was a pure act of genius, any minute now and Dib would fall right into his trap.

“Yes, stinking fool boy, GO INTO ZIM’S TRAP OF ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION!” Zim screeched, laughing maniacally.

Dib jolted in the forest, as a guttural scream broke the peaceful sounds of nature around it. Such a sound could not belong to neither man nor beast; it was the sound of the supernatural. Elation trumping fear, Dib ran towards the scream.

“THIS IS IT BIG FOOT, I’M COMING FOR Y-” He froze at the sight that met him. It wasn’t Big Foot, it was something much, much worse. A lanky creature twice Dib’s size stood in a clearing. It had a sparse covering of fur over elongated limbs; the fur didn’t come close to matching the sample in Dib’s pocket. At the end of the creatures elongated hands were six-inch razor-sharp claws, and where its feet should have been were black cloven hooves, supporting its curved legs. Instead of a head, there was only a pure white deer skull with two black antlers protruding at the top.

Dib shook in place, realising that none of his tools would help him now. Everything he had was for use against Big Foot, he had nothing that would protect him from the wrath of a Wendigo.

With eyeless sockets, you, once a human, stared at the quivering boy before you. You tasted his soul, finding strength and curiosity beyond his years. Sensing no greed worth punishing, the Wendigo part of your mind opted not to attack.

Dib swallowed his fear, thinking through plans A-Z that might help him capture what might be the only Wendigo he’d ever seen in his life. He pointed at you, “S-Stop right there, Wendigo. I- Uh I will capture you.”

You opened your maw, revealing the sharp fangs of an apex predator. After letting out a low growl, you spoke, each word thick and gravelly as it struggled to come from a non-human mouth. “Back away boy, I have no quarrel with you, I simply wish to leave this place.”

“YOU CAN TALK! This is amazing, I mean, I’ve read about Wendigos but none of my research ever suggested- HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”

Dib ran to catch up with you, annoyed that you were walking away from him, yet simultaneously excited that he could communicate with you and get everything he needed from the horse’s mouth so to speak.

“I’ve gotta ask, how did you become a Wendigo? Were you born one? Did you eat some human flesh? What can you do? Are there more of you? I thought you’d be taller. How long do Wendigos live? Do you need to sharpen your claws?”

You slashed the air in front of Dib, tearing part of his shirt but missing his flesh on purpose. “LEAVE PUP. I HATE QUESTIONS FROM FILTHY HUMANS.”

Dib stared at you bemusedly, “All right, first off that was my favourite shirt. Second, I’m not filthy. I bathed this morning, twice; once for Skool, and again after a fight with Zim.”

You jolted painfully, lurching forward and stumbling onto Dib for support. Dib fell to the ground under your weight, “Hey, you alright? Was it something I said? You know, if you let me take you to the TV studios where they film Mysterious Mysteries, I’ll make sure you get any medical treatment you need.”

You groaned, clawing at your skull as flesh grew over it. Slowly and excruciatingly, your bones broke, reforming into smaller ones as you returned to your original form. If Dib was less flabbergasted by the unique transformation from Wendigo to human, he would have been embarrassed by your lack of clothes. Instead, he rolled you off him, dropping his coat over you and pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself while you recovered from your stupor.

“…Incredible. A full metamorphosis. Note to self, find out the cause… and get some pizza to bribe Gaz into helping me. What would it take, I wonder…”

You wrapped yourself in the coat, feeling the return of your human senses. On shaky legs, you got up, moving slowly away from Dib so as not to draw attention to yourself. Unfortunately, Dib was not so dim-witted as to not notice your minor escape attempt. He grabbed your arm, handcuffing it to his own and stating simply, “You have to come with me now.”

“Let me go, boy,” You hissed pitifully, missing the threat that your wendigo side had.

“Quit calling me boy, you’re like the same age as me. My name is Dib and I’ll be the guy taking you to Mysterious Mysteries now, so get comfy.”

You toppled to the ground petulantly, “Not if I can help it.”

Despite his small size, Dib was strong from his multiple battles with Zim and as such, he had only a little trouble dragging you in the desired direction. “I’m sure you’ll love it when we get there. Look, you can decide how the interview goes and I’ll even let you pick out your own scientific name, but the world needs to know about you.”

You reached for a nearby sapling with your free hand, holding onto it so Dib couldn’t drag you any further. “I’m not going anywhere,” You screeched, holding him back.

“Why are you resisting? We could be famous.” He reached for your hand, trying to prise it from the tree.

“No, you could be famous. I’ll get stuck in another lab. I WON’T GO BACK!” You kicked your legs to show your rage.

Dib sat down next to you, “You mean you weren’t born like this?”

“No, I’m a human, you idiot!”

Dib ignored the insult, “What lab?”

“I dunno… it had a lot of wires, and I remember the colour red, but I didn’t see much from my cage.”

“Was there a tiny robot? Or an alien with green skin?!” He asked loudly with a sudden glint in his eyes.

You let go of your branch, sitting up moodily, “I. Don’t. Know. I didn’t see anyone in there. I was stolen from my home. I was experimented on. I was knocked out for everything. Then, I woke up a monster and I escaped.”

“How did you get out?”

You sighed, figuring that as long as you were talking, you wouldn’t be exposed on TV. “There was a loose bar on the cage, when I turned into the Wendigo, I tore it off.”

“And your transformations, you can control them?”

“Sort of… I get tired though. Now will you please let me go? I’m not here to be your discovery.”

Dib sighed, hating that he had to have a moral compass now of all times. Knowing that you were born a human meant he had an obligation to you as one of his own. Why did he have to swear an oath to protect humanity, no matter what? Just once, couldn’t he find a supernatural creature that didn’t escape or that wasn’t created by Zim.

“Okay…” He said quietly. “I’m going to tell you something and you have to believe me because it has everything to do with why you’re a Wendigo.”

You stared at him sharply, curious at what information he could possibly have that might help you.

“There’s this kid in my class, only he’s not a kid, he’s an alien. By what you’ve told me, he turned you into this.” Dib waited a moment, then frowned, the expression quickly turning into one of pure elation, “You’re not laughing! YOU’RE NOT LAUGHING AT ME! YOU DON’T THINK I’M CRAZY!”

You were pulled up quickly by Dib’s attempt at a happy dance, which quickly landed you on top of him. You growled annoyedly, the sound having little effect outside of your Wendigo form. Completely missing your social cue, Dib simply continued smiling to himself at the prospect of finding what was possibly the only other sane human in the city.

“Yeah, yeah, your guy is an alien,” You said hurriedly. “Let me outta these cuffs.”

“HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE? HE TURNED YOU INTO A WENDIGO!”

“YEAH!” You pushed Dib in the chest, making him stumble, though he didn’t fall. “So, I know exactly what he can do! All I want to do is leave and go somewhere he will never find me.”

“What if I can give you something more?”

You sneered, “What do you mean?”

“I mean what if I can help you find a cure or something?”

“…I’m listening.”

Dib was prepared to give a full-length speech on his plans to stop Zim, but sensing your anger he kept it short, having lost far too many audiences in the past. “I want to save the world from Zim. You can help me, mainly because you know what it’s like to be hurt by him and I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t want that for anybody else. In the meantime, you can live with me in my room and I’ll help you find a cure; my dad has a tonne of stuff that could help you.”

You scoffed, “Your dad, huh? What’re you gonna say to him? ‘Gee dad, I brought a Wendigo home, can I keep her?’”

“’Kay, that sounded nothing like me by the way, and we have no problems in the parental department; my dad’s never home.”

While you didn’t like Dib or his plan, you were stuck for options and so you reluctantly nodded. “Fine… Now take the cuffs off.”

Dib coughed embarrassedly, “ _Yeah_ , about that… I accidentally left it at home.”

It was your turn to sigh, “Idiot.”

While you and Dib walked side by side towards the bus stop, Zim stroked his chin from the confines of his lab, intrigued by the unusual turn of events. His plans hadn’t gone to accordance, but he sensed an opportunity even greater than his previous one, so long as he could be patient and try a few new experiments; one way or another, he would use you to destroy the filthy Dib creature.

* * *

It had been exactly sixty-two days since Dib found you in the woods and your shaky alliance was formed in the heat of the moment. Since then, after watching him work on finding a cure for you, watching Mysterious Mysteries together whenever he came home from skool, and living with him in his room, you couldn’t deny that he’d grown on you, as you had to him. Whenever he danced now, you joined in, and instead of flinching from his touch, you leaned into it, trusting him intimately.

Sometimes, your Wendigo form got the better of you, forcing a transformation. In those times, you relied on him more than ever to keep you stable, helping you control yourself long enough to change back before you hurt someone. Mostly, you wanted to hurt Zim, who you still hadn’t officially met, though you had seen silent footage of him from Dib’s hacked city cameras. Occasionally however, you wanted to hurt the infamous Professor Membrane, Dib and Gaz’s father, for although you also hadn’t met him, you saw the pain Dib tried to hide when he achieved something great and there was nobody else there to praise him for it. You did what you could to cheer your friend up on those days, but you couldn’t ever make-up for a father’s love, or lack thereof.

You were actually thinking about whether you’d ever see the illusive Professor when you heard the skool bus outside. You ran outside, ignoring Gaz as she did you, to meet Dib, crushing him in a hug which he happily reciprocated, having got used to your usual displays of affection; being practically the only person you ever saw, it was hard not to grow attached to him in such a manner.

“How was your day? Did you see Zim? Did you fight? I want to hear everything.”

“Well actually, Zim was-” Dib looked over your shoulder, seeing a glint of silver high in the neighbour’s tree. “ZIM!” He glowered, upon spotting Zim’s robot, Gir.

Not caring that you were in public, you shifted, feeling the old wisdom seep into you as you traded your old flesh for the skull of the Wendigo. In an urge to protect you from your creator, Dib chased after Gir, jumping into the trees and pursuing him onto the rooftops, while you stopped to look around for its master.

You felt a small scratch penetrate the skin on your shoulder and turned unhurriedly to see Zim in his human disguise, only a few metres away with a blow-dart. You shrieked angrily, though Zim didn’t look the slightest bit intimidated.

“Funny how easy Dib can get distracted by the art of  _misdirection,_ ” Zim said casually.

You tried to taste his soul but found nothing that you could discern; apparently, aliens were much harder to read than humans. Lacking your Wendigo senses, you opted to attack, baring your fangs and readying your claws to hack and slash.

Seeing your hands twitching, Zim shook his head, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Why not?” You hissed.

“Because, that blow-dart was full of nanobots, aimed to destroy you if you so much as get near me without my permission.” He chuckled proudly, “Quite genius if I do say so myself.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT, MONSTER?”

“I want what you want. I want to help you.”

Despite what he’d told you about the nanobots, you considered attacking anyway, thinking it might be worth your life if you could take him down in time. “Help me? YOU MADE ME!”

“No, no, no. While you are impressive, if you were mine, I would have improved your reaction time and made you taller. See, that’s why I’m here, to fill you in on the truth.” With a flourish, Zim prepared himself for a dramatic reveal of the truth, “You see, I have found-”

High pitched, robotic laughter interrupted Zim, over his comm-link. “I’M BEING CHASED BY A MONKEY!”

“GIR! I TOLD YOU NOT TO INTERRUPT ME!”

“BUT I WANNA HEAR TOO.”

“NO! STICK TO THE PLAN AND KEEP THE PUTRID DIB CREATURE AWAY!”

“Awww… Okie dokie.”

The radio fell silent and Zim cleared his throat, pretending nothing had happened. “As I was saying, you presume me to be some evil alien and I ask, are you sure it’s me you should fear?”

You didn’t respond, waiting for what Zim had to say since he obviously wasn’t there to attack you and you could do nothing to get to him.

“I want you to think about Dib. Has he really found a cure for you or did he just make it look like that’s what he was doing? Don’t you think it’s a little coincidental that the night after you escaped, in the middle of nowhere, he just happened to find you and bring you to a place where he could train you?”

“What are you saying, alien?”

“I want to show you something I found. A little video of Dib’s creator.  _Disgusting pig creature,_ ” He muttered under his breath, sliding a video pad over to you.

You pressed play on the video, falling eerily silent and deathly still as Professor Membrane spoke, cheerily explaining how metamorphosis worked and how he planned to artificially recreate it. It became glaringly obvious, Zim had never created you; Professor Membrane had. You knew that voice all too well. Glaring at it with vehement hatred, you destroyed the video-pad with a slash of your claws, making Zim grin evilly.

It was true, he never did create you. While he had set up a trap for Dib in the woods, it had gone undiscovered, but that no longer mattered to the Irken for he had found something much better.

Zim made himself look small and weepy, pouting slightly for effect, “Dib even turned you against  _me_. I know I’m not from this planet but I’m not here to destroy it, I only wanted to  _save_  it. Please… Come with me. I might not be able to cure you, but I can at least save you from Dib.”

“I won’t be used again,” You growled.

“Of course, I would never dream of it. If you come with me now, I will release you, or you can work with me to defeat Dib… if you want.”

You glowered, needing revenge more than you needed the very air itself. You nodded once, waiting for Zim to deactivate the nanobots, and walking to his side when you did. Meanwhile, Zim was planning a million uses for you in his head, happy that he was now one step closer to conquering Earth.


End file.
